Fractionation of Whey Protein Isolate with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide—Process Modeling and Cost Estimation

Abstract

An economical and environmentally friendly whey protein fractionation process was developed using supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as an acid to produce enriched fractions of α-lactalbumin (α-LA) and β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) from a commercial whey protein isolate (WPI) containing 20% α-LA and 55% β-LG, through selective precipitation of α-LA. Pilot-scale experiments were performed around the optimal parameter range (T = 60 to 65 °C, P = 8 to 31 MPa, C = 5 to 15% (w/w) WPI) to quantify the recovery rates of the individual proteins and the compositions of both fractions as a function of processing conditions. Mass balances were calculated in a process flow-sheet to design a large-scale, semi-continuous process model using SuperproDesigner® software. Total startup and production costs were estimated as a function of processing parameters, product yield and purity. Temperature, T, pressure, P, and concentration, C, showed conflicting effects on equipment costs and the individual precipitation rates of the two proteins, affecting the quantity, quality, and production cost of the fractions considerably. The highest α-LA purity, 61%, with 80% α-LA recovery in the solid fraction, was obtained at T = 60 °C, C = 5% WPI, P = 8.3 MPa, with a production cost of $8.65 per kilogram of WPI treated. The most profitable conditions resulted in 57%-pure α-LA, with 71% α-LA recovery in the solid fraction and 89% β-LG recovery in the soluble fraction, and production cost of $5.43 per kilogram of WPI treated at T = 62 °C, C = 10% WPI and P = 5.5 MPa. The two fractions are ready-to-use, new food ingredients with a pH of 6.7 and contain no residual acid or chemical contaminants.

Retracted Article: Bigger data open innovation: potential applications of value-added products from milk and sustainable valorization of by-products from the dairy industry

“…Some examples are: protein fractionation of skim milk by means of microfiltration 16 , purification of β-casein using cross-flow polymeric microfiltration membranes 17 , fractionation of α s -casein, κ-casein and β-casein 18 , concentration of milk proteins using negatively-charged ultrafiltration membranes 19 and supercritical carbon dioxide to effectively fractionate whey proteins (α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin), as well as to isolate casein glycomacropeptide (an amino acid fragment of κ-casein) 20,21 . Some examples are: protein fractionation of skim milk by means of microfiltration 16 , purification of β-casein using cross-flow polymeric microfiltration membranes 17 , fractionation of α s -casein, κ-casein and β-casein 18 , concentration of milk proteins using negatively-charged ultrafiltration membranes 19 and supercritical carbon dioxide to effectively fractionate whey proteins (α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin), as well as to isolate casein glycomacropeptide (an amino acid fragment of κ-casein) 20,21 .…”

Paving the High-Way to Sustainable, Value Adding Open-Innovation Integrating Bigger-Data Challenges: Three Examples from Bio-Ingredients to Robust Durable Applications of Electrochemical Impacts

“…It has also been successfully used to recover proteins from whey and concentrate S. Ortega-Requena et al Journal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology protein fractionation of skim milk by means of microfiltration [101], purification of β-casein using cross-flow polymeric microfiltration membranes [102], fractionation of α s -casein, κ-casein and β-casein [103], concentration of milk Journal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology proteins using negatively-charged ultrafiltration membranes [104] and supercritical carbon dioxide to effectively fractionate whey proteins (α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin), as well as to isolate casein glycomacropeptide (an amino acid fragment of κ-casein) [105] [106].…”

Enrichment desired quality chitosan fraction and advance yield by sequential static and static–dynamic supercritical CO2

“…However, supercritical fluids were seldom applied to fractionate biopolymers. Bonnaillie and colleagues obtained enriched ␣-lactalbumin and ␤-lactoglobulin fractions from whey protein through selective precipitation with supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2 ) Yver, Bonnaillie, Yee, McAloon, & Tomasula, 2012). Lee et al (2012) reported that the chitosan was extracted by static supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO 2 ) containing 1 wt% acetic acid solution as cosolvent, and the extracted chitosan displayed higher DD, lower weight-average molecular weight (Mw) and PDI than raw chitosan.…”